Villa denies Chelsea with last-gasp goal
Source: Agencies |
January 4, 2011, Tuesday
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CHELSEA was denied a thrilling comeback victory when Aston Villa grabbed a stoppage-time equalizer to salvage a 3-3 draw in a chaotic finale at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday.
Trailing 1-2 with six minutes to go, Chelsea leveled through Didier Drogba and sent its fans wild when defender John Terry made it 3-2 one minute from time with his first league goal for a year.
Yet barely before the supporters had retaken their seats, Carlo Ancelotti's champion team had thrown it away when its defense went to sleep, allowing Ciaran Clark a free header from point-blank range to salvage a point for Villa.
In Sunday's other English Premier League game, Newcastle United won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic thanks to a first-half goal from Shola Ameobi.
Chelsea has taken just 10 points from the last 30, a run that leaves it in fifth place on 35 points, one behind Tottenham Hotspur and four behind Arsenal. Manchester United and Manchester City lead the way with 41 points.
"I'm disappointed, obviously, because I think we used a lot of energy in second half to try to come back to win with a good spirit," Ancelotti told reporters.
Chelsea had gone ahead with a Frank Lampard penalty after 23 minutes but Villa restored parity with its own penalty, by Ashley Young, just before halftime.
An Emile Heskey header put the visitors ahead early in the second half and after Brad Friedel made three great saves it looked as if Villa would hold on for a morale-boosting win.
The American keeper did well again to block a Salomon Kalou shot after 84 minutes but Drogba forced the rebound through three defenders to make it 2-2.
Terry then seized on another rebound to shoot home what he and most of the stadium greeted as the winner in the 89th.
However, Chelsea inexplicably allowed Clark to ghost in unmarked at the far post to nod in Marc Albrighton's cross.
Villa, which has now taken four points from a possible 21, started the day a point above the relegation zone and ended it in 15th place, two points above the bottom three.
Trailing 1-2 with six minutes to go, Chelsea leveled through Didier Drogba and sent its fans wild when defender John Terry made it 3-2 one minute from time with his first league goal for a year.
Yet barely before the supporters had retaken their seats, Carlo Ancelotti's champion team had thrown it away when its defense went to sleep, allowing Ciaran Clark a free header from point-blank range to salvage a point for Villa.
In Sunday's other English Premier League game, Newcastle United won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic thanks to a first-half goal from Shola Ameobi.
Chelsea has taken just 10 points from the last 30, a run that leaves it in fifth place on 35 points, one behind Tottenham Hotspur and four behind Arsenal. Manchester United and Manchester City lead the way with 41 points.
"I'm disappointed, obviously, because I think we used a lot of energy in second half to try to come back to win with a good spirit," Ancelotti told reporters.
Chelsea had gone ahead with a Frank Lampard penalty after 23 minutes but Villa restored parity with its own penalty, by Ashley Young, just before halftime.
An Emile Heskey header put the visitors ahead early in the second half and after Brad Friedel made three great saves it looked as if Villa would hold on for a morale-boosting win.
The American keeper did well again to block a Salomon Kalou shot after 84 minutes but Drogba forced the rebound through three defenders to make it 2-2.
Terry then seized on another rebound to shoot home what he and most of the stadium greeted as the winner in the 89th.
However, Chelsea inexplicably allowed Clark to ghost in unmarked at the far post to nod in Marc Albrighton's cross.
Villa, which has now taken four points from a possible 21, started the day a point above the relegation zone and ended it in 15th place, two points above the bottom three.
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